structural roots of gbv and how it expresses itself through sexual
structural roots of gbv and how it expresses itself through sexual
structural roots of gbv and how it expresses itself through sexual
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“Pills are bad for the liver, they produce gastr<strong>it</strong>is, they can sterilize or produce Down<br />
Syndrome children; my sister was born w<strong>it</strong>h a blood mole in her face.”<br />
Another important issue is the strong conviction modern contraception fails: the pill, the<br />
condom, even injections, <strong>and</strong> DHS data prove this is so, due to inadequate method use.<br />
Hearsay is very strong on this <strong>and</strong> women in poverty generally distrust contraceptives.<br />
Only Reproductive Sex w<strong>it</strong>hin Marriage<br />
Adding to this, conservative moral, religious <strong>and</strong> even social <strong>and</strong> economic issues lead<br />
to valuing virgin<strong>it</strong>y <strong>and</strong> abstinence until marriage for young people <strong>and</strong>, especially,<br />
women, <strong>and</strong> this makes even having boyfriends being unacceptable, making modern<br />
contraceptive use “wrong”. Girls in poor settings refer they would prefer to tell their<br />
parents they became pregnancy due to rape than acknowledge having a boyfriend.<br />
Following Christian religious beliefs, women are expected to control male´s desire <strong>and</strong><br />
not tempt men; men are not held responsible for the consequences <strong>of</strong> their hetero<strong>sexual</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> reproductive acts. Girls’ <strong>sexual</strong><strong>it</strong>y evidences more control <strong>and</strong> punishment (stigma,<br />
discrimination, <strong>and</strong> exclusion). Women are blamed for abortions, divorces,<br />
unfa<strong>it</strong>hfulness, even for rape.<br />
Cuzco church w<strong>it</strong>h religious motif: Hell for sinners.<br />
Photo cred<strong>it</strong>s: Maria Raguz<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> low acceptance <strong>of</strong> modern methods <strong>and</strong> permanent methods for young<br />
people, condom use, the most natural <strong>of</strong> the unnatural methods <strong>and</strong> the one easier to<br />
hide <strong>and</strong> also, available to buy on dem<strong>and</strong>, is the most accepted contraceptive method.<br />
Adolescent boys <strong>and</strong> girls in the study –especially in Lima- know <strong>how</strong> the basics <strong>of</strong> <strong>how</strong><br />
to use <strong>it</strong>, but males do not want to use <strong>it</strong> because “<strong>it</strong> does not feel the same”, <strong>and</strong> females<br />
feel disempowered to get them to use <strong>it</strong>, <strong>and</strong> fear being ab<strong>and</strong>oned or subjected to<br />
physical violence if they insist. Also, a girl is not expected to carry condoms w<strong>it</strong>h her,<br />
“being prepared” implying “promiscu<strong>it</strong>y”.<br />
Another issue is young people´s sex is mainly unplanned <strong>and</strong> thus, unprotected. To this<br />
<strong>it</strong> adds the difficult accessibil<strong>it</strong>y to modern contraception in poor <strong>and</strong> rural settings.<br />
Even if they are freely provided by public health services, access to these services is<br />
very lim<strong>it</strong>ed, as has been proven in studies about the delays to access health care in<br />
obstetric complications leading to maternal deaths. For young people this access is not<br />
only logistically complicated but social <strong>and</strong> cultural factors make <strong>it</strong> more difficult for<br />
them, <strong>and</strong> especially females, to look for <strong>sexual</strong> <strong>and</strong> reproductive health care. This is so